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Mr. Sackville : Information for 1982 to 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, is shown in the table.
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|c|Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of malignant neoplasms of the colon (ICD 153) by regional health authority (RHA), 1982 to 1986|c| RHA |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 ------------------------------------------------------ Northern |984 |932 |962 |908 |956 Yorkshire |1,074|1,132|1,086|1,073|1,099 Trent |1,384|1,458|1,437|1,328|1,420 East Anglia |586 |642 |641 |619 |693 North West Thames |723 |859 |637 |738 |840 North East Thames |1,066|998 |921 |598 |863 South East Thames |1,044|898 |1,053|1,039|1,041 South West Thames |919 |873 |923 |790 |863 Wessex |1,014|1,116|1,078|1,022|1,045 Oxford |701 |633 |660 |669 |677 South Western |981 |940 |1,024|1,123|965 West Midlands |1,397|1,431|1,481|1,646|1,577 Mersey |629 |642 |732 |696 |736 North Western |1,274|1,271|1,328|1,225|1,234 Wales |832 |787 |877 |969 |767
|c|Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of malignant neoplasms of the rectum, rectosigmoid junction and anus (ICD 154) by regional health|c| |c|authority (RHA), 1982 to 1986|c| RHA |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 ------------------------------------------------------ Northern |610 |667 |597 |604 |617 Yorkshire |756 |842 |822 |757 |771 Trent |920 |1,034|942 |1,003|858 East Anglia |345 |431 |417 |414 |440 North West Thames |418 |473 |401 |442 |471 North East Thames |669 |572 |543 |437 |522 South East Thames |606 |578 |654 |569 |600 South West Thames |511 |515 |519 |455 |468 Wessex |523 |505 |535 |518 |547 Oxford |372 |359 |410 |365 |357 South Western |607 |597 |670 |700 |603 West Midlands |991 |909 |1,018|1,088|1,071 Mersey |482 |417 |489 |501 |523 North Western |817 |856 |797 |763 |804 Wales |726 |745 |763 |789 |675
|c|Deaths from malignant neoplasms of the colon (ICD 153) by regional health authority (RHA), 1982 to 1991.|c| RHA |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Northern |645 |667 |720 |737 |656 |672 |620 |745 |659 |722 Yorkshire |784 |742 |753 |792 |755 |761 |777 |798 |792 |781 Trent |880 |910 |976 |1,000|947 |946 |1,042|1,087|1,016|1,032 East Anglia |392 |423 |440 |439 |467 |489 |500 |477 |497 |478 North West Thames |639 |629 |714 |660 |707 |665 |696 |687 |701 |669 North East Thames |775 |750 |744 |745 |717 |782 |758 |804 |801 |769 South East Thames |799 |813 |886 |890 |830 |862 |868 |882 |909 |832 South West Thames |669 |678 |727 |718 |703 |723 |989 |690 |653 |669 Wessex |676 |663 |683 |687 |698 |708 |732 |763 |761 |736 Oxford |397 |359 |447 |445 |482 |467 |442 |516 |490 |464 South Western |709 |711 |826 |784 |767 |838 |853 |805 |861 |829 West Midlands |1,038|980 |1,120|1,136|1,137|1,190|1,171|1,135|1,221|1,152 Mersey |540 |515 |572 |576 |530 |568 |545 |544 |548 |582 North Western |911 |843 |962 |924 |882 |947 |936 |934 |879 |935 Wales |614 |595 |639 |723 |718 |733 |735 |729 |714 |713
|c|Deaths from malignant neoplasms of the rectum, rectosigmoid junction and anus|c| |c|(ICD 154) by regional health authority (RHA), 1982 to 1991.|c| RHA |1982|1983|1984|1985|1986|1987|1988|1989|1990|1991 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Northern |378 |442 |401 |402 |424 |419 |414 |415 |408 |445 Yorkshire |429 |454 |467 |423 |432 |480 |449 |443 |443 |441 Trent |549 |637 |588 |626 |538 |542 |576 |589 |595 |579 East Anglia |203 |232 |234 |230 |248 |149 |239 |221 |213 |229 North West Thames |297 |338 |326 |315 |303 |291 |304 |279 |285 |312 North East Thames |408 |418 |379 |383 |353 |342 |349 |373 |350 |353 South East Thames |396 |434 |438 |397 |402 |376 |397 |390 |419 |361 South West Thames |306 |371 |331 |321 |340 |311 |312 |310 |315 |292 Wessex |284 |331 |303 |344 |349 |303 |345 |303 |297 |304 Oxford |223 |231 |237 |200 |216 |234 |210 |254 |233 |242 South Western |341 |445 |383 |400 |376 |386 |382 |386 |393 |393 West Midlands |598 |637 |655 |707 |674 |642 |652 |670 |631 |578 Mersey |279 |331 |327 |372 |315 |274 |272 |265 |291 |320 North Western |487 |581 |552 |521 |516 |520 |504 |514 |495 |509 Wales |334 |383 |396 |389 |357 |297 |346 |336 |316 |324
Mergers
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which district health authority mergers (a) have taken place since 1 April 1990 and (b) are under consideration.
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Mr. Sackville : The information requested is as follows :
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|c|Approved mergers|c| New authority |Old authorities |Date ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bloomsbury and Islington |Bloomsbury/Islington |17 September 1991 Leeds |Leeds East/Leeds West |1 April 1991 South Birmingham |Central Birmingham/South Birmingham |1 April 1991 North-east Warwickshire |Rugby/North Warwickshire |1 April 1991 Bristol and District |Bristol and Weston/Frenchay/Southmead |1 October 1991 Gloucestershire |Cheltenham and district/Gloucester |24 February 1992 North-west Anglia |West Norfolk and Wisbech/Peterborough |1 April 1992 Dorset |East Dorset/West Dorset |1 April 1992 North Nottinghamshire |Central Nottingham/Bassetlaw |1 April 1992 East and North Hertfordshire |East Hertfordshire/North Hertfordshire |1 April 1992 North Durham |North-west Durham/Durham |1 April 1992 South-east London |Lewisham and North Southwark/Camberwell/West Lambeth |<1>1 April 1993 Buckinghamshire |Aylesbury Vale/Wycombe/Milton Keynes |<1>1 April 1993 Suffolk |West Suffolk/East Suffolk |<1>1 April 1993 North Worcestershire |Bromsgrove and Redditch/Kidderminster |<1>1 October 1992 (Name to be decided) |York/Harrogate/Scarborough/Northallerton/Airedale (part)|To be decided (Name to be decided) |Bradford/Airedale (part) |To be decided <1> Proposed start date.
Counterfeit Medicines
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to stop the import of counterfeit medicines ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : Any reports of alleged import of counterfeit medicines into the United Kingdom are urgently investigated by the enforcement unit of the Medicines Control Agency. The United Kingdom licensing system covering the import, sale and production, of medicinal products is continually kept under review to ensure appropriate safeguards against counterfeit products are maintained.
Medical Treatment
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific steps she proposes to take to ensure that the internal market for medical treatment within the national health service does not prejudice (a) the resources currently available for observation, research or innovation within some larger and longer-founded institutions and
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(b) the level of reserves of nursing and ancilliary services available for emergencies and relapses of patients during post-operative recuperation.Mr. Sackville : The introduction of a new national health service research and development (R and D) strategy marks our commitment to increasing the resources devoted to R and D for the national health service. Although staffing levels are primarily decisions for local management, the national health service reforms provide an effective mechanism for targeting resources where they are most responsive to patients' needs, including post-operative recuperation.
Surgery
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the average weekly number of theatre sessions for each regional health authority for each year since 1985 and for the current year to date.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is given in the table. Information about operating theatre usage has been collected centrally only since 1987. Figures for the year ending March 1992 are not yet available centrally.
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|c|Operating theatre sessions: Average number per week|c|
Regional health authority |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |935 |969 |963 |1,002
Yorkshire |942 |969 |969 |996
Trent |1,136 |1,189 |1,255 |1,225
East Anglian |567 |566 |588 |583
North West Thames |852 |1,067 |927 |858
North East Thames |1,125 |1,099 |1,158 |1,183
South East Thames |1,031 |1,058 |1,129 |1,143
South West Thames |650 |789 |827 |855
Wessex |772 |796 |810 |795
Oxford |599 |607 |623 |603
South Western |864 |980 |964 |961
West Midlands |1,437 |1,437 |1,444 |1,475
Mersey |762 |774 |825 |832
North Western |1,403 |1,434 |1,474 |1,459
Special health authorities |247 |284 |285 |287
England |13,323 |14,018 |14,241 |14,258
Source: KH08.
Continuing Care Beds
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department issues to health authorities regarding the discharge of patients from continuing care beds to private residential or nursing homes.
Mr. Yeo : Guidance "Discharge of patients from hospital--HC(89)5", on discharge procedures was issued to health authorities in February 1989. A copy is available in the Library.
Mr. Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list, by health authority area, the numbers of
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continuing care beds available in hospitals, for occupation by elderly people ; and what is the average length of stay in such beds.Mr. Yeo : The table shows, for each health authority, the number of beds in wards designated for elderly patients. Continuing care beds are not separately identified. The average length of stay in these beds is 36.2 days.
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|c|Number of beds available in wards designated|c|
|c|general patient-elderly in 1990-91|c|
|Number
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Regional Health Authority |3,683
Hartlepool |157
North Tees |160
South Tees |244
East Cumbria |279
South Cumbria |269
West Cumbria |194
Darlington |144
Durham |173
North West Durham |121
South West Durham |179
Northumberland |339
Gateshead |216
Newcastle |457
North Tyneside |185
South Tyneside |171
Sunderland |395
Yorkshire Regional Health Authority |3,909
Hull |239
East Yorkshire |178
Grimsby |152
Scunthorpe |223
Northallerton |95
York |236
Scarborough |177
Harrogate |176
Bradford |340
Airedale |218
Calderdale |240
Huddersfield |256
Dewsbury |175
Leeds Western |442
Leeds Eastern |386
Wakefield |168
Pontefract |209
Trent Regional Health Authority |4,411
North Derbyshire |333
South Derbyshire |434
Leicestershire |758
North Lincolnshire |257
South Lincolnshire |276
Bassetlaw |105
Central Nottinghamshire |282
Nottingham |572
Barnsley |273
Doncaster |283
Rotherham |250
Sheffield |588
East Anglian Regional Health Authority |2,373
Cambridge |344
Peterborough |238
West Suffolk |295
East Suffolk |426
Norwich |503
Great Yarmouth and Waveney |204
West Norfolk and Wisbech |251
Huntingdon |112
North West Thames Regional Health Authority |3,173
North Bedfordshire |238
South Bedfordshire |169
North Hertfordshire |203
East Hertfordshire |209
North West Hertfordshire |256
South West Hertfordshire |184
Barnet |473
Harrow |169
Hillingdon |238
Hounslow and Spelthorne |230
Ealing |131
Riverside |255
Parkside |418
North East Thames Regional Health Authority |3,483
Basildon and Thurrock |285
Mid Essex |253
North East Essex |241
West Essex |214
Southend |214
Barking, Havering and Brentwood |335
Hampstead |130
Bloomsbury |76
Islington |102
City and Hackney |149
Newham |248
Tower Hamlets |225
Enfield |209
Haringey |221
Redbridge |236
Waltham Forest |346
South East Thames Regional Health Authority |3,212
Brighton |229
Eastbourne |290
Hastings |254
South East Kent |316
Canterbury and Thanet |298
Dartford and Gravesham |166
Maidstone |129
Medway |228
Tunbridge Wells |163
Bexley |138
Greenwich |189
Bromley |249
West Lambeth |142
Camberwell |164
Lewisham and North Southwark |259
South West Thames Regional Health Authority |2,566
North West Surrey |157
West Surrey and North East Hants |174
South West Surrey |224
Mid Surrey |133
East Surrey |180
Chichester |98
Mid Downs |218
Worthing |352
Croydon |200
Kingston and Esher |231
Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton |166
Wandsworth |189
Merton and Sutton |244
Wessex Regional Health Authority |2,780
East Dorset |583
West Dorset |238
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire |441
Southampton and South West Hampshire |322
Winchester |186
Basingstoke and North Hampshire |165
Salisbury |164
Swindon |174
Bath |378
Isle of Wight |127
Oxford Regional Health Authority |1,647
East Berkshire |165
West Berkshire |328
Aylesbury Vale |124
Wycombe |205
Milton Keynes |83
Kettering |295
Northampton |220
Oxfordshire |227
South Western Regional Health Authority |3,240
Bristol and Weston |206
Frenchay |396
Southmead |84
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |395
Exeter |367
North Devon |183
Plymouth |414
Torbay |221
Cheltenham |262
Gloucester |296
Somerset |417
West Midlands Regional Health Authority |4,846
Bromsgrove and Redditch |87
Herefordshire |157
Kidderminster and District |136
Worcester and District |214
Shropshire |263
Mid Staffordshire |210
North Staffordshire |643
South East Staffordshire |372
Rugby |75
North Warwickshire |131
South Warwickshire |226
Central Birmingham |162
East Birmingham |206
North Birmingham |160
South Birmingham |334
West Birmingham |341
Coventry |4
Dudley |196
Sandwell |234
Solihull |84
Walsall |286
Wolverhampton |326
Mersey Regional Health Authority |2,047
Chester |206
Crewe |259
Halton |67
Macclesfield |108
Warrington |96
Liverpool |368
St. Helens and Knowsley |192
Southport and Formby |153
South Sefton |212
Wirral |387
North Western Regional Health Authority |4,406
Lancaster |189
Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde |409
Preston |138
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley |258
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale |264
West Lancashire |78
Chorley and South Ribble |118
Bolton |283
Bury |210
North Manchester |230
Central Manchester |142
South Manchester |298
Oldham |194
Rochdale |166
Salford |290
Stockport |382
Tameside and Glossop |230
Trafford |210
Wigan |317
Special Health Authorities |127
The Hospitals for Sick Children |0
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery |0
Moorfields Eye Hospital |0
Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals |0
Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital |0
The Royal Marsden Hospital |0
Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's |127
The Eastman Dental Hospital |0
England |45,902
Source: KHO3.
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Employment Statistics
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the number of practice managers of health centres who are employed on Whitley council salary grade 4 or less in (a) the Northern regional health authority, (b) Sunderland district health authority and (c) England and Wales ;
(2) if she will list the number of single-handed general practitioner practices which employ (a) 0 to two staff (full-time equivalent), (b) three to five staff (full-time equivalent), (c) five to 10 staff (full-time equivalent) and (d) more than 10 staff (full-time equivalent) in (i) the Northern regional health authority, (ii) Sunderland district health authority and (iii) England and Wales.
Dr. Mawhinney : This information is not held centrally.
Single Practices
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the number of single-handed practices which have patient lists of (a) 1,000 or less, (b) 2,000 and (c) 3,000 or more in (i) the Northern regional health authority, (ii) Sunderland district health authority and (iii) England and Wales ;
(2) if she will list the number of single general practitioner practices in the (a) Northern regional health authority, (b) Sunderland district health authority and (c) England and Wales.
Dr. Mawhinney : The latest available information for 1 October 1991 is shown in the table. Information on general medical practitioners is collected by family health services authority area. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
|c|Single-handed general medical practitioner list sizes|c|
|Northern |Sunderland|England
|RHA |(FHSA)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of single
handed general medical
practitioners |129 |13 |2,923
List size: 1,000 or less |7 |0 |390
List size 1,000-1,999 |57 |6 |921
List size 2,000-2,999 |53 |4 |1,220
List size: 3,000 or more |12 |3 |392
Abortion
141. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the methods of disposal now being used at private abortion centres ; if any recognised abortion centre is still using a macerator ; whether she will establish an independent monitoring team to investigate private centres ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) if she will make a statement on the way in which the remains of aborted unborn children are disposed of.
Mr. Sackville : Guidelines have been issued to the NHS and the private abortion sector making it clear that, subject to personal wishes, fetuses and fetal tissue from termination of pregnancy must be incinerated. This is the method now being used by all places approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967. Compliance in the NHS is a matter for individual health authorities. The Department's medical, nursing and investigative officers make regular unannounced inspections of approved places and I see no need to change that arrangement.
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147. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unborn children were aborted, during the last 12 months for which figures are available, at (a) 10 to 12 weeks, (b) 12 to 14 weeks, (c) 14 to 16 weeks, (d) 16 to 18 weeks, (e) 18 to 20 weeks, (f) 20 to 22 weeks and (g) 22 to 24 weeks gestation.Mr. Sackville : The figures requested are not readily available in the form requested. The table shows the information that is readily available for England, Wales and Scotland :
|c|Number of abortions by gestation weeks, England, Wales and|c| |c|Scotland.|c| Gestation |Number of weeks |abortions ------------------------------ 9-12 |97,098 13-14 |10,577 15-16 |6,292 17-18 |4,207 19-20 |2,803 21-22 |1,625 23-24 |709
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many unborn children with mental or physical handicaps were aborted after 24 weeks' gestation.
Mr. Sackville : Between 1 April and 30 September 1991, 31 abortions were performed in England, Wales and Scotland after 24 weeks' gestation under statutory ground E which states : "there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".
These are the most recent figures available since the changes to the Abortion Act 1967, as amended by section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, came into effect on 1 April 1991.
Hospital Doctors' Working Hours
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out her plans for the reduction of junior hospital doctors' hours.
Dr. Mawhinney : The "New Deal" for junior doctors, launched in June 1991, set a time scale for reducing the hours of duty of doctors and dentists in training. Under the "new deal", average weekly contracted hours of duty are to be reduced initially to 83 per week for those working on- call rotas, 72 per week for those working partial shifts and 60 per week for those working full shifts. This was to be done as soon as practicable but, in the light of progress to date, we announced in May that we had set a target date of 1 April 1993 for achieving this.
Average weekly contracted hours of duty are to be reduced further to a maximum of 72 per week for those in hard-pressed on-call posts, 64 per week for those working partial shifts and 56 per week for those working full shifts by 31 December 1994. Regardless of contracted hours, our intention is that no junior doctor employed on a full-time basis should normally be expected to work for more than an average of 56 hours per week by that date.
Subject to review by the ministerial group on junior doctors' hours, the aim is to reduce maximum average contracted hours of duty for on-call posts which are considered not to be hard pressed to 72 per week by the end of 1996. Doctors in higher professional training may
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still contract for up to 83 hours per week after that date where it would be to the benefit of their training and they wish to do so, providing proper support staffing exists and the duties are not harmful either to the trainees or to patients.Leeds General Infirmary
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what examination her Department has made of the compliance of the consultancy with the firm Madgenix formerly held by Dr. Ian Barnes at the Leeds general infirmary department of chemical pathology, with her Department's circular HM/62/21 ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Allegations concerning this consultancy were the subject of an investigation by the internal auditors of Leeds Western health authority in 1989. An independent consultancy conducted the internal audit. The allegations were not substantiated.
Recent restatements of the allegations by the Management Science and Finance Union have now been referred to the internal auditors by the board of the United Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action her Department has taken since the statutory auditor's report on the department on chemical pathology at Leeds general infirmary in 1987 ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Department sought an assurance from Yorkshire regional health authority that the matters contained in the 1987 statutory auditor's report were being addressed. The region reported to the Department in December 1989 that following an internal review, the then Leeds Western health authority had introduced revised procedures for the management of pathology services. The region was satisfied with the district's response to the audit criticisms.
EC Proposals
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the experts her Department consults on European Community proposals relating to health matters.
Dr. Mawhinney : The Department consults public sector bodies, professional associations, voluntary organisations and other bodies on EC proposals relating to health matters depending upon the contents of the proposal.
Food Poisoning
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the number of egg-associated food poisoning outbreaks during 1991, listing all the local authorities who have reported such outbreaks to the communicable disease surveillance centre ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The bulk of egg-associated food poisoning outbreaks reported are caused by salmonellas. Outbreaks of human salmonellosis reported to the Public Health Laboratory Service's (PHLS) communicable disease surveillance centre, together with information on suspect foods, are routinely published in the PHLS-SVS
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update on salmonella infection. The total number of outbreaks reported in 1991 was 57. Reports of outbreaks are voluntary and are made in confidence to the PHLS. Publication of reports broken down by local authority could damage the continued co-operation of local investigators in providing information relating to outbreaks, which is important for national infectious disease control.The table gives the information by regional health authority.
|c|Family and general outbreaks of
salmonella in which eggs or foods|c|
|c|containing eggs were reported as
the suspect food|c|
|c|England and Wales 1991|c|
Region |Number of
|reports
--------------------------------------
Northern |4
Yorkshire |5
Trent |6
East Anglia |3
North West Thames |4
North East Thames |2
South East Thames |6
South West Thames |8
Wessex |8
Oxford |1
South Western |2
West Midlands |3
Mersey |0
North Western |2
Wales |2
|-------
Total |<1>57
<1> Includes one outbreak reported
from the Wessex/Oxford/South Western
regional health authority.
Notes:
1. Data provided by the PHLS
communicable disease surveillance
centre.
2. An outbreak represents two or more
related laboratory confirmed
salmonella infections in humans of
whom at least one was ill.
3. Suspect foods are those reported
to communicable disease surveillance
centre as such.
4. The total of 57 reports in 1991
includes five not reported in time
for inclusion in the January 1992
PHLS-SVS update.
Departmental Environment Policies
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is the Minister responsible for considering the environmental implications of all of her Department's policies ; when that person was appointed ; what actions her Department has taken since the appointment of a responsible Minister ; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment gave him today.
Blood Transfusion Service
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) why screening for human T-cell leukaemia in the blood transfusion service has not been introduced ;
(2) if she will publish the conclusions of the study into the risks of the human T-cell leukaemia virus undertaken at the north London blood transfusion centre on behalf of her Department.
Mr. Sackville : The survey by the north London blood transfusion centre into the prevalence of HTLV in its blood donors has recently been concluded and the findings
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have been presented at a scientific meeting. The results are being considered by an expert advisory committee and recommendations are expected to be presented to Ministers shortly.General Practitioners
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has given regarding (a) the ownership of private medical companies by general practitioner fund holders and (b) the referral of patients for treatment by such companies by fund holders involved in the companies.
Dr. Mawhinney : Regulation 3(2) of the National Health Service (Fund -holding Practices) (General) Regulations 1991 requires GP fund holders to obtain the written consent of the regional health authority before they are able to use the practice fund to purchase any services from a body with which they have a particular connection. This would include a contract placed with any medical companies in which any member of the fund holding practice had a financial interest, for example, as director or employee. These regulations were issued to all GP fund holders.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department gives to health authorities concerning expenditure by health authorities on newspaper advertisements issued in connection with an authority's proposal to apply for trust status.
Dr. Mawhinney : None. Trust applications are subject to public consultation by regional health authorities, and it is for regions, in consultation with individual trust applicants to decide how best to conduct the consultation and bring it to public notice.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy towards applications for trust status where a hospital trust business plan has as its long-term objective the closure of the hospital concerned.
Dr. Mawhinney : To be successful, each trust must provide the range, volume and quality of services required by its purchasers. Each trust application is judged against four key criteria : the benefits to patients and improvements in the quality of services it will achieve ; leadership and management ; the involvement in management of key professional staff ; and, financial viability.
Opencast Mining
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will undertake an investigation into the level of respiratory problems of the people in the village of Kirkhamgate, west Yorkshire, brought about in the area by opencast operations ;
(2) how many children and adults in the village of Kirkhamgate, west Yorkshire are suffering respiratory problems following the opencast coal mining operations in the area ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Information concerning people with respiratory problems in Kirkhamgate are not collected centrally. The district health authority is not aware of any respiratory problems associated with the small opencast mine nearby.
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It is not clear what role current levels of air pollutants may play in the occurrence of respiratory complaints. I am advised, however, that there is no evidence to suggest that surface mineral working causes any detrimental health effects on local communities. Further research needs in the general area of the effects of air pollutants upon health is being considered by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants which was set up by the Department this year.Maternity Services
Ms. Harman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department ceased to collect centrally information on the place of birth of babies born to women resident in Dacorum and St. Albans districts broken down by hospital in the form indicated in her answer of 15 October 1990, Official Report, columns 656-57.
Mr. Sackville : I regret that the answer given to the hon. Member on 13 January, at column 522, was incorrect. The information requested in that question is as follows :
|Dacorum |St. Albans
----------------------------------------------------------------
St. Albans City Hospital |1,159 |1,282
Luton and Dunstable Hospital |21 |49
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital,
Welwyn Garden City |5 |156
Watford General Hospital |210 |58
Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital |180 |0
RAF Halton Maternity Unit |191 |0
Other hospitals |73 |60
At home |43 |17
Elsewhere |1 |1
|------- |-------
Total |1,883 |1,623
South Birmingham Health Authority
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the KPMG Peat Marwick report into South Birmingham health authority will be available.
Mr. Sackville : We expect the report to be submitted to the regional health authority shortly.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Mink
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice his Department gives to establishments, licensed under the Mink (Keeping) Order 1987, on the avoidance of spread of diseases of mink between establishments and to other wild species.
Mr. Soames : Licensed mink-keeping establishments are visited periodically by the state veterinary service. These visits are primarily concerned with welfare matters, but, when necessary advice is provided on disease.
Sheep Dip
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the scientific advisers to the Veterinary Products Committee who advised on organo-phosphorous sheep dips, and their employers ; what evidence they gave ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Soames : In order to ensure an independent assessment of the dossiers supporting applications, the Veterinary Products Committee supplements its own expertise with advice from officials in the veterinary medicines directorate, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Health, the Health and Safety Executive and the Department of the Environment. In respect of organophosphorous sheep dips, that advice has also included : an analysis of reports made under the suspected adverse reaction surveillance scheme ; the results of an Health and Safety Executive survey of sheep dipping practice in the farming community ; and the report of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides into diazinon's use as a pesticide. The committee has recently asked companies to supply further data by the end of the year on studies of farm operators, including blood tests and details of protective clothing worn, as well as studies to show which areas of the bodies of operators are most exposed.
Sheep Scab
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been done into the efficacy of different methods for eliminating sheep scab ; what are the numbers of infected animals reported in the last five years for which statistics are available ; and what comparable eradication schemes operate in other EC countries.
Mr. Gummer : Research is being carried out at the Central Veterinary Laboratory into methods of sheep scab control other than dipping.
Information on the number of infected animals is not available because--as long as the disease remains notifiable--infestation is recorded on a flock basis. In Great Britain, the number of outbreaks of sheep scab by flock in the past five years are as follows :
Year |Number --------------------- 1988 |36 1989 |66 1990 |95 1991 |116 1992 |<1>93 <1> to 31 May
The Department does not maintain comprehensive information on the control policies in other Community member states. There is no Community requirement for action to control scab.
Nutrition Systems
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much funding is currently allocated by his Department to the encouragement of (a) an integrated plant nutrition system, (b) the raised efficiency of synthetic fertiliser use and (c) the promotion of effective low input systems.
Mr. Curry : In 1992-93, the Department will be spending about £7 million on (a) and (b) and £6 million on (c). Some £14.8 million will also be spent on the reduction of pesticide usage, which has a major underpinning role in the development of low input systems. The LINK programme "Technologies for Sustainable Farming Systems", introduced in July 1991, is designed to promote collaborative research in the areas
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mentioned, and total financial support for that programme will exceed £4 million, of which half will be contributed by the Government.Animal Slaughtering
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to bring forward legislation which will prohibit the export of live animals for slaughter ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : There are no plans to introduce such legislation. New Community rules will come into force on 1 January 1993 to safeguard the welfare of animals during transport. These rules will apply equally to transport within and between member states.
Tobacco
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present subsidy for tobacco farmers from the common agricultural policy ; what proportion of the CAP is allocated to support to tobacco farmers ; and what proportion of the subsidised tobacco is exported to third world countries.
Mr. Curry : In 1991, the EC spent 1,300 mecu--about £927 million--on the CAP tobacco regime, which is about 3.9 per cent. of total CAP expenditure. About 18 per cent. of EC raw tobacco production goes to developing countries.
Chernobyl
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list (a) the number of farms and (b) their acreage that remain under restriction orders in the United Kingdom as a result of the radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Mr. Curry : The information requested is as follows :
|Number of |Acreage
|farms |(approximate)
-----------------------------------------------------------
England |138 |95,500
Northern Ireland |110 |19,850
Scotland |60 |145,420
Wales |407 |205,500
Conservation Projects
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with representatives of the agricultural industry with regard to future assistance for conservation projects undertaken by farmers.
Mr. Soames : My ministerial colleagues and I have frequent meetings with representatives of the industry about a wide range of issues, including future assistance for conservation projects underaken by farmers.
EC Proposals
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the experts his Department consults on European Community proposals relating to agricultural matters.
Mr. Curry : My Department consults a very wide range of organisations on European Community proposals.
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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tests he has carried out on milk for the presence of the organism causing BSE in the last three years ; what was the outcome of the tests ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Milk has never been shown to transmit any of the spongiform encephalopathies or to contain the infective agent. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food funded work starting in 1988 at the Royal Veterinary College, London to determine whether infectivity exists in milk, mammary gland--udder--or supramammary lymph node of four cows with confirmed BSE. No infectivity was found.
A second experiment has been initiated in which susceptible mice will be fed milk from six confirmed cases of BSE--two each at early, mid and late lactation. The results will be published in the normal way when the experiment is complete.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Ministry's progress in developing a blood test for BSE ; and when he expects that such a test might be available for use.
Mr. Gummer : Studies are still under way to develop a satisfactory diagnostic test to detect the BSE agent in the live animal. It is not possible to forecast when such a test might be available, or even to be sure that a blood test will necessarily be the best method of detection. The hon. Member can rest assured that I shall announce any change in the position without delay.
Flood Risks
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what study his Department has made of the flood risks posed by sea level rises in the future to (a) the nuclear power station sites in Suffolk and (b) the former toxic waste tip near Pakerfield, Suffolk ; and if he will make a statement.
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